Holly Bank Nursery

Apple trees, a natural willow den and a mud kitchen give Holly Bank Nursery a clear outdoor character. In Edgerton, Huddersfield, its garden supplies materials for play as well as space to move, while spacious, light rooms and resources made from natural materials carry that character indoors. Nature is part of the daily routine.

At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Holly Bank Outstanding, finding exceptional progress alongside an ambitious education programme. The strongest examples combined conversation with practical work: children investigated scented dough, watched birds and contributed ideas for a moving robot. These were experiences with something to discuss, solve or make.

Holly Bank accepts children from three months to five years and has 59 places in total. Full-day and term-time attendance are offered, with the practical arrangements set out below.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play supports language, movement, relationships and growing understanding of the world. Holly Bank adds a Forest School approach, using its garden's natural materials for outdoor exploration and practical activities. Children plant flowers and vegetables, collect apples from fruit trees and investigate wildlife. The materials change with the seasons, giving children fresh things to handle and talk about.

In February 2024, learning included dough containing daffodils, with children comparing textures and discussing smells. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics also entered play through a moving-robot project to which children contributed ideas. These examples show the difference between simply handling materials and using them to develop questions and explanations.

Language work in February 2024 included stories selected around children's interests and what they needed to learn next. Practitioners demonstrated clear speech, while older children listened to Spanish teaching and sang songs in Spanish. Younger children used an imagined jungle adventure to think about animals. Conversation ran through practical play as well as group activities.

Weekly cooking activities were part of older children's experience in February 2024, alongside helping prepare for lunch. Children also practised putting on outdoor clothing themselves. Such everyday tasks gave independence a practical purpose: getting ready to play or helping with a shared meal.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily outdoor play has several forms here. Sandpits and climbing apparatus sit alongside the mud kitchen, planting opportunities and natural willow den. Children can build dens or explore wildlife as well as climb and dig, so the garden supports quieter investigation and more energetic play.

In February 2024, forest-school activities included constructing wooden bird boxes with tools, making nests from branches and assembling feeders with oranges and seeds. Binoculars helped children look for birds and nests in nearby trees. Nature study therefore involved observing living things and making something for them.

Toddlers worked together with water and guttering in February 2024 to produce waterfalls. Younger children practised climbing outdoor steps safely, while older children used climbing frames. The examples connect physical movement with cooperation and trying out ideas.

Celebrating Eid brought stories, sensory bags and lantern-making to Holly Bank. Preschool children decorated lanterns and displayed them in windows, while books prompted discussion of family, kindness and sharing. In February 2024, community experiences also included visits to a care home and a library, and learning about Eid and Diwali. These activities gave children ways to explore lives and celebrations beyond their own routines.

Relationships and Communication

A key person keeps families involved in their child's learning and development. Holly Bank also holds regular stay-and-play sessions, parents' evenings, charity events and opportunities for volunteering. For parents, these offer different ways to take part: joining an activity, discussing development or contributing to nursery life.

In February 2024, staff exchanged information with families when children started and continued sharing activity information afterwards. A book-lending library and activity bags extended learning into the home. Parents of babies were invited to sensory sessions, and families took part in a space-themed stay-and-play activity. The connection with home included things families could do together.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SENCO-trained staff support children with additional needs at Holly Bank. This gives families a specific support role to discuss, rather than relying on a general promise of inclusion.

At the February 2024 inspection, Ofsted found support for disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities carefully targeted, emotional wellbeing given strong attention, and safeguarding effective. Those are dated judgements about practice at that visit.

In February 2024, discussions and visual materials helped children explore dental care and healthy eating, including why milk matters for teeth and bones. Staff development also included coaching, supervision and training selected around practitioners' needs, with additional training for the baby-room team. This describes the team's development at that time rather than a current staffing count.

Sessions and Attendance

Holly Bank offers full-day and sessional attendance, as well as term-time places. Flexible, free term-time places are offered for children from two years. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year, excluding public holidays. Families choosing term-time attendance and those using full days therefore have different patterns to consider within the same opening window.

Getting There

The address is 10 Queens Road, Edgerton, Huddersfield, HD2 2AE. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01484 429464 or by email to hollybank@portlandnurseries.co.uk; a visit-booking option is also offered.

Funding and Paid Extras

Holly Bank offers 15- and 30-hour funding and term-time places, alongside paid childcare. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. For families combining funded time with paid attendance, the distinction matters when choosing a weekly pattern.

• Funding and the weekly pattern. Holly Bank combines funded term-time places with full-day and sessional attendance. At a visit, ask how your intended attendance pattern would work.
• Outdoor play every day. Planting, wildlife exploration and the mud kitchen are part of Holly Bank's garden offer. Discuss clothing and how outdoor activities are adapted for your child's age and needs.
• Individual support. SENCO-trained staff and a key person provide specific points of contact. Use a visit to discuss how your child's routines and additional needs would be supported, and how information would pass between home and nursery.

Holly Bank suits families seeking daily outdoor exploration with either full-day attendance or term-time places. Its willow den, fruit trees, sandpits and planting opportunities give that offer substance, while the February 2024 learning examples show practical activity linked to language and investigation. The Outstanding judgement is a strong dated endorsement. For a family making the choice now, the useful next step is to match the attendance pattern and individual support arrangements to their child.